Wednesday, January 30, 2013

Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo

Ibn and Marco are not typical of the people of their time period, because they traveled. A lot. Together they have covered many of the important cities and locations of the time period, something I would think is very rare. Although many people traveled for trade, this would be over one region or between the same two regions repeatedly. Not many other people could have said that they had traveled as much as they did. During those times, however, there is almost no use for anyone to travel to such an extent. Government officials would only need to travel to nations near to their own as would merchants. There were simply too many things to worry about to travel to faraway lands, and it took too much time. Nowadays, people like Marco and Ibn exist, where they can travel around the world for fun, not just for practical purposes. The time for traveling has decreased, as has the cost. Specialization allows for people that want to travel to do so, as they don't have to manage for their own subsistence.

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Crusades Project: Day 4


It's done:

Plan B:
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/14089439/crusades-project

Plan C:
http://youtu.be/XWy3U1414ac

Plan D: go through a browser, search app, or the YouTube app, and look up 'hd3d1'
Bibliography:

Alchin, L. K. "The First Crusade." The First Crusade. N.p., 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/the-first-crusade.htm>.

Alchin, L. K. "The Third Crusade." The Third Crusade. N.p., 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/the-third-crusade.htm>.
Alchin, L. K. "The Fourth Crusade." The Fourth Crusade. N.p., 16 Nov. 2012. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/the-fourth-crusade.htm>.
"Internet History Sourcebooks." Internet History Sourcebooks. Fordham University, 1996. Web. 10 Jan. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1k.asp>.
Halsall, Paul. "Medieval Sourcebook: Soloman Bar Samson: The Crusaders in Mainz, May 27, 1096." Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham University, Oct. 1997. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1096jews-mainz.asp>.
Halsall, Paul. "Fulcher of Chartres: History of the Expedition to Jerusalem." Internet History Sourcebooks Project. Fordham University, Dec. 1997. Web. 11 Jan. 2013. <http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/fulcher-cde.asp>.
"Fourth Crusade." History Net Where History Comes Alive World US History Online Fourth Crusade Comments. Weider History Group, 31 July 2006. Web. 10 Jan. 2013.



Comments:

Dear Johnathan,
Not meaning to be critical, but your bibliography need to be in MLA format! See if you can try to fix this before the start of class!

Lynn,

Great connection of subjects, with you using Alice to demonstrate your understanding of a history concept. It shows real-world applications of the things you're learning in Computer Science, as well as giving you a unique idea for your history project.

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

Crusades Project: Day 3

Today, I finalized the three crusades I plan on focusing on, the first, third, and fourth. I found two sources for the last two using bing.com (http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/the-third-crusade.htm and http://www.historynet.com/fourth-crusade.htm). I also finalized my presentation format, using Xtranormal.com. Tomorrow is for the actual publishing of the video.

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Comments

Dear Allie,
I found a website that has some cool primary sources regarding the First Crusade. (http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/fulcher-cde.asp) I thought that this was a trustworthy source, and I think that it could be helpful to you also. If you look around their website, I'm sure that they have information about the other crusades as well.

Dear Sharleen,
I found some primary sources about the First Crusade showing its bloody, gory nature that would probably be useful for you.(http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/fulcher-cde.asp). Check it out, I'm planning on using it myself.

Tuesday, January 8, 2013

The Crusades Project: Day 2

So today, more research was done, I decided to use the first crusade as one of the three for my project, and did research about it using Bing.com. I found a couple really good sources concerning multiple topics about the First Crusade, like thisthis, and this. I also planned out my presentation, looking to use Xtranormal.com to make a video, the only thing is that I have to plan to manage the free trial that is given because I don't want to pay for points.

Monday, January 7, 2013

Crusades Project: Day 1

Today we looked at the various crusades that occurred between the given time period. I also looked at some possible presentation ideas, like making a video of me drawing pictures while narrating the views of Muslims. Later on, I turned away from this idea because it was too labor intensive. I have to think of another creative way to show my understanding of the Crusades.

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Map of Africa + differences between our map and the textbook's


I would think that the textbook did not include the details that we did on our map mainly because of time and money concerns. Black ink is cheaper than colored ink, so if the textbook company decided to include maps that were as detailed as ours, it would end up costing them much more. Also it took several people much more time to create the map, and the textbook company may not have the time for that. Maps like the one's we made are difficult to understand for those that did not create it.

The understanding of the map changes greatly because of the lack of detail. Much more is open to interpretation, and African societies look much weaker and much more isolated. It shows that they only import and do not export.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

My life's story

If I am lucky enough to do something of enough significance to get a mention in a history course or just to get some place in history, I would like my life's story to be told as a song rather than facts in a text book. I would not want my life's story to be something students are forced to swallow and regurgitate. Rather I want my life's story to be told in a way that maybe other people can relate to, whereas in a textbook, most people have nothing in common. Also in a textbook, my life would be summed up in at max a paragraph. I am maybe a little biased, but I would like to think that my life is a little more complex than to be able to be written in one paragraph. Maybe some facts are lost along the way, and maybe that people put their own bias into the song, but I would want to be more than a name and a birth date in a textbook. The other issues do not concern me, and because songs are more entertaining, whereas textbooks are forced onto students, I would choose songs.